Semiconductor device including edge bond pads and methods

ABSTRACT

A vertically mountable semiconductor device including at least one bond pad disposed on an edge thereof. The bond pad includes a conductive bump disposed thereon. The semiconductor device may also include a protective overcoat layer. The present invention also includes a method of fabricating the semiconductor device, including forming disconnected notches in a semiconductor wafer, redirecting circuit traces into each of the notches, and singulating the semiconductor wafer along the notches to form bond pads on the edges of the resultant semiconductor devices. A method of attaching the semiconductor device to a carrier substrate includes orienting the semiconductor device such that the bond pad is aligned with a corresponding terminal of the carrier substrate and establishing an electrical connection between the bond pad and the terminal. Preferably, an electrically conductive material is disposed between the bond pad and the terminal to establish an electrically conductive bond between the semiconductor device and the carrier substrate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Cross Reference to Related Applications

[0002] This application is a divisional of application Ser. No.09/660,782, filed Sep. 13, 2000, pending, which is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 09/001,404, filed Dec. 31, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.6,235,551, issued May 22, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates to vertically mountable, bare orminimally packaged semiconductor dice. In particular, this inventionrelates to semiconductor dice having bond pads on an edge thereof. Moreparticularly, a preferred semiconductor device according to the presentinvention has all of its bond pads distributed along a single edgethereof. In use, upon vertical orientation and alignment of thesemiconductor device upon a carrier substrate, an electricallyconductive material establishes an electrical connection between eachbond pad and a corresponding terminal of the carrier substrate.

[0005] 2. State of the Art

[0006] The direct attachment of a semiconductor device to a circuitboard is known in the art as chip-on-board technology. Semiconductordice that are directly mountable to a circuit board typically includebond pads adjacent more than one edge thereof or in an area array overthe active surface thereof. Methods for attaching dice directly to acircuit board include flip-chip technology and tape automated bonding.Typically, when such techniques are employed, a semiconductor devicewhich includes bond pads on the active surface thereof is oriented overthe circuit board and substantially parallel thereto so that anelectrical connection will be established between the semiconductordevice and the circuit board. After connecting such a semiconductordevice to a circuit board, a protective coating may be applied over thesemiconductor device.

[0007] However, the placement of a semiconductor device directly againsta circuit board is somewhat undesirable in that, due to the parallelorientation of the semiconductor device relative to the circuit board,and the typical placement of the semiconductor device's active surfaceagainst the circuit board, the heat must pass through both the circuitboard and the semiconductor device in order to transfer away from thesemiconductor device. Thus, the transfer of heat away from thesemiconductor device is relatively slow. The horizontal orientation ofthe semiconductor device also consumes a great deal of area or “realestate” on the circuit board. Moreover, chip-on-board attachments aretypically permanent, making them somewhat undesirable from thestandpoint that they are not readily user-upgradable.

[0008] Vertical surface mount packages are also known in the art. Whencompared with traditional, horizontally mountable semiconductor packagesand chip-on-board devices, many vertical surface mount packages have asuperior ability to transfer heat away from the semiconductor device.Vertical surface mount packages also consume less area on a circuitboard than a horizontally mounted package of the same size. Thus, manyskilled individuals in the semiconductor industry are finding verticalsurface mount packages more desirable than their traditional,horizontally mountable counterparts.

[0009] The following United States Patents disclose various exemplaryvertical surface mount packages: Re. 34,794, issued to Warren M.Farnwoth on Nov. 22, 1994; U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,304, issued to KouijaHara and Jun Tanabe on Aug. 22, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,289, issued toYooung D. Kweon and Min C. An on Sep. 12, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,815,issued to Norio Taniguchi et al. on Sep. 19, 1995; U.S. Pat. 5,592,019,issued to Tetsuya Ueda et al. on Jan. 7, 1997; and U.S. Pat. No.5,635,760, issued to Toru Ishikawa on Jun. 3, 1997.

[0010] Many vertical surface mount packages are somewhat undesirable inthat they include leads which operatively connect a semiconductor deviceto a circuit board. The leads of such vertical surface mount packagestend to increase the impedance and decrease the overall speed with whichthe semiconductor device conducts electrical signals. Moreover, thepackaging of many such vertical surface mount packages adds to theirundesirability. Typically, packaging requires multiple additionalmanufacturing steps, which translates into increased production costs.The packaging of many vertical surface mount packages also tends toconsume a substantial amount of area on the circuit board. Moreover,many vertical surface mount packages are not user-upgradable.

[0011] Some electronic devices have electrical contacts disposed on theedges thereof. Typically, such contacts are formed by drilling a holethrough the substrate. The hole, or at least the perimeter thereof, isthen filled with an electrically conductive material. Solders, moltenmetals and other electrically conductive materials are useful forfilling the holes and forming the electrical contacts. When thesubstrate is separated into distinct boards or dice, the contacts aredivided such that they are located on the edge of the distinct boards ordice. Such devices are illustrated and described in the following U.S.Pat. Nos.: 5,266,833 (the “'833 patent”), issued to David F. Capps onNov. 30, 1993; 5,471,368 (the “'368 patent”), issued to Alan P. Downieet al. on Nov. 28, 1995; and 5,635,670 (the “'670 patent”), issued toKenji Kubota et al. on Jun. 3, 1997.

[0012] The '833 patent also describes semiconductor dice having bondpads on the edges thereof. Such bond pads are formed by disposing a gridof “thin electrically conductive wires 14 formed of a suitableelectrical conductive material, such as copper or gold, . . . in asemiconductor material during the growth of a semiconductor crystal16.”0 (Col. 4, lines 32-36).

[0013] In order to achieve appropriate bond pad placement, greatconsistency and accuracy are required in the orientation of theconductive wires during formation of the silicon ingot, singulation ofthe wafer, and fabrication of circuit traces on each semiconductordevice. However, because the silicon is transferred after being sawedinto wafers, it is somewhat difficult to maintain such consistency andaccuracy in the placement of the wires. Further, such a method offorming edge-bound bond pads does not permit varying the bond padplacement on different wafers cut from the same ingot. U.S. Pat. No.5,668,409 (the “'409 patent”), issued to Stephen Joseph Gaul on Sep. 16,1997, discloses a vertically mountable, bare semiconductor die whichincludes bond pads along the edge thereof. The '409 patent disclosesvertical mounting of that device to a circuit board by solder reflowtechniques. However, that device is somewhat undesirable in thatfabrication thereof requires several additional steps relative to thefabrication of typical chip-on-board semiconductor devices. Therequirement of additional fabrication steps and the related requirementof additional fabrication materials increase the manufacturing cost ofsuch semiconductor devices. Moreover, the disclosed use of solder reflowtechniques to attach the semiconductor device of the '409 patent to acircuit board prohibits users from readily upgrading or otherwisereplacing that semiconductor device.

[0014] Thus, a vertically mountable bare semiconductor device is neededwhich has reduced impedance relative to devices in the prior art, hasgood thermal conductivity, consumes less area or “real estate” on acircuit board, and is user-upgradable. A method of fabricating asemiconductor device with bond pads in select positions on the edgesthereof with fewer steps is needed. A method of directly mounting anedge-bumped semiconductor device perpendicularly relative to a carriersubstrate is also needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The vertically mountable, edge-bumped semiconductor device of thepresent invention addresses each of the foregoing needs.

[0016] The semiconductor device of the present invention includes bondpads disposed on the edges thereof. More preferable, the bond pads aredisposed on a single edge of the semiconductor device. Placement of thebond pads on an edge of the semiconductor device facilitates directvertical mounting of the semiconductor device to a carrier substrate.Thus, when such a semiconductor device is mounted perpendicularlyrelative to a carrier substrate, packaging and leads are not necessaryto establish an electrical connection between the bond pads and thecorresponding terminals on the carrier substrate. The direct connectionbetween the bond pads of the semiconductor device and carrier substrateterminals also imparts the semiconductor device of the present inventionwith low impedance.

[0017] A fabrication method according to the present invention includescreating notches in a semiconductor wafer in locations where bond padsare desired and redirecting a circuit trace into selected notches. Aprotective overcoat may also be formed over the active surfaces of thedice. The metalized notches may be filled with a solder ball, othermetal member or other electrically conductive material. The wafer issingulated along each of the metalized notches to form bond pads on theedges of each resultant semiconductor device.

[0018] An alignment device, which attaches the semiconductor device to acarrier substrate, includes a body which defines at least one slottherein, into which a semiconductor device is insertable. The alignmentdevice may also include a mechanism for biasing the semiconductor deviceagainst a carrier substrate. Preferably, each slot is wider at its topopening than at its bottom opening, which abuts the carrier substrate,in order to facilitate insertion of a semiconductor device therein. Themechanism for biasing establishes and maintains electrical contactbetween the bond pads of the semiconductor device and the correspondingcontacts of the carrier substrate.

[0019] Other advantages of the present invention will become apparentthrough a consideration of the appended drawings and the ensuingdescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020]FIG. 1a is a perspective view of a first embodiment of asemiconductor device according to the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 1b is a cross-section taken along line 1 b-1 b of FIG. 1a;

[0022]FIGS. 2a through 2 f are cross-sectional views which illustrate amethod of fabricating the semiconductor device of FIG. 1a;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a singulated semiconductor waferincluding bumped bond pads on the edges of the semiconductor dicethereof;

[0024]FIG. 4a is an assembly view of the semiconductor device of FIG.1a, an alignment device for orienting the semiconductor device relativeto a carrier substrate, the carrier substrate, and a cover which may bedisposed over the alignment device;

[0025]FIG. 4b is a cross-section of the alignment device, taken alongline 4 b-4 b of FIG. 4a, which illustrates an embodiment of attachmentof the semiconductor device to a carrier substrate; and

[0026]FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the semiconductor devicein a computer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0027]FIGS. 1a and 1 b illustrate a semiconductor device 10 according tothe present invention, which includes bond pads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, etc.disposed along a single edge 16 thereof. Thus, during the fabrication ofsemiconductor device 10, bond pads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, etc. are redirectedto edge 16. Methods and mechanisms which are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are useful for manufacturing semiconductor device 10and fabricating circuit traces which lead to bond pads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c,etc. Preferably, the fabrication steps which precede the formation ofthe circuit traces that lead to the bond pads are unchanged from theirequivalent steps in the fabrication of prior art semiconductor dice.Thus, existing semiconductor designs are useful in the semiconductordevice with little reconfiguration.

[0028] Semiconductor device 10 may include a standardized number of bondpads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, etc., which are laterally spaced from one anotherat a standardized pitch, and which may be positioned at a specificlocation relative to a center line 18 of the semiconductor device, orrelative to any other landmark on the semiconductor device, such as aside thereof. Alternatively, the pitch and number of bond pads may benonstandardized. The placement of bond pads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, etc. onedge 16 imparts semiconductor device 10 with reduced impedance as thebond pads are electrically connected to a carrier substrate (referencecharacter 40 of FIG. 4), relative to many vertical surface mountpackages and other packaged semiconductor devices in the prior art.

[0029] Preferably, each of bond pads 12 a, 12 b, 12 c, etc. includes abump 14 a, 14 b, 14 c, etc., respectively, formed thereon. Bumps 14 a,14 b, 14 c, etc. are preferably formed from gold, gold alloy, or alead-based solder.

[0030]FIGS. 2a through 2 f illustrate a first method of fabricating bondpads along the edge of semiconductor device 10. With reference to FIG.2a, one or more disconnected notches 22 are formed in the active surface21 of a semiconductor wafer 20. Preferably, notches 22 are formed onlyin locations upon semiconductor wafer 20 where bond pad placement isdesired. Notches 22 are preferably formed by masking and silicon etchingtechniques that are known in the art, including, without limitation,photolithographic and plasma etching processes.

[0031] Preferably, a protective layer of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) isformed over active surface 21 of each semiconductor device 10 ofsemiconductor wafer 20 by techniques that are known in the art. The SiO₂layer is then selectively etched at locations where electricalconnection to circuit traces (described below) is desired.

[0032] Referring now to FIG. 2b, circuit traces 24 are repatterned alongactive surface 21 of each semiconductor device 10 and into each notch22. Preferably, circuit traces 24 are formed from aluminum, aluminumalloys, titanium tungsten (Ti:W) alloys, platinum, refractory metalsilicides or other metals or metal alloys by sputtering techniques,which are known in the art.

[0033] As FIG. 2c illustrates, a protective overcoat 26 is then formedover semiconductor wafer 20. Preferably, protective overcoat 26 has athickness of from about 5 microns to about 25 microns to impart strengthand support to semiconductor device 10. Protective overcoat 26 ispreferably a layer of polyimide, acrylate, epoxy potting compound,acrylic, silicone, polyurethane, another resin, or another protectivecoating material. Preferably, protective overcoat 26 is formed on orapplied to semiconductor device 10 by methods which are known in theart, including, but not limited to, spin coating, spraying, flowcoating, brush coating, and known polyimide application techniques.

[0034] Turning now to FIG. 2d, when protective overcoat 26 is formedfrom a material which is not readily removable from notches 22 followingdeposition and/or curing, a mask is employed to prevent the overcoatmaterial from entering or curing in the notches. Thus, the protectiveovercoat forms a bond pad opening 28 around each notch 22. Polyimidelayers may be applied over the entire active surface 21 of semiconductorwafer 20, removed from notches 22 by known photolithography methods tocreate bond pad openings 28 around each notch, then cured.

[0035] With reference to FIG. 2e, each notch 22 may be filled with anelectrically conductive material, which is referred to as a conductivebump 29. Conductive bump 29 may be formed from solder (preferably alead-based solder), gold, gold alloy or another electrically conductivematerial. Conductive bump 29 is formed by methods which are known in theart, including, without limitation, screen printing, stencil printing orpressure dispensing of solder pastes, solder reflow techniques, wavesoldering, condensation soldering, infrared soldering, conductivesoldering, and other solder processes.

[0036] Alternatively, protective overcoat 26 may be applied followingthe formation of conductive bumps 29 in each notch 22.

[0037]FIGS. 2f and 3 depict a singulated semiconductor wafer 30.Semiconductor wafer 30 is preferably singulated by sawing. Duringsingulation of semiconductor wafer 30, several semiconductor devices 10and 10′ are formed, having adjacent edges 16 and 16′. Conductive bump 29is also severed, forming bond pads 12 and 12′ on edges 16 and 16′,respectively.

[0038] Referring to FIGS. 4a and 4 b, an alignment device 42 supportsone or more semiconductor devices 10 relative to a carrier substrate 40.Alignment device 42 has one or more slots 44 formed completelytherethrough (i.e., each slot opens to both the top and bottom surfacesof the alignment device). Preferably, each slot 44 tapers outwardtowards the top portion thereof, such that the top of the slot is thelargest portion thereof. Thus, the taper facilitates the insertion of asemiconductor device 10 into slot 44. Preferably, an electricallyconductive material 46, such as a z-axis elastomer or a solder joint, ispositioned at the bottom of slot 44, against carrier substrate 40, toestablish an electrical connection between each bond pad 12 ofsemiconductor device 10 and its respective terminal 41 on the carriersubstrate 40.

[0039] Preferably, the total side tolerance between semiconductor device10 and slot 44 is about 10 mils to about 40 mils, such that thesemiconductor device is readily insertable into and removable from theslot. Nevertheless, due to carrier substrate “real estate” consumptionconsiderations, alignment device 42 should be, preferably, as narrow aspossible. As a semiconductor device 10 is inserted into alignment device42, downward pressure on the semiconductor device against electricallyconductive material 46 biases the semiconductor device relative to theelectrically conductive material to establish an electrical connectionbetween the bond pads 12 of the semiconductor device and theirrespective terminals 41. Alternatively, each slot 44 may be adapted toreceive a plurality of dice.

[0040] Alignment device 42 may also include a cover 48, which enclosessemiconductor device 10 disposed within slot 44. Cover 48 may also beadapted to bias semiconductor device 10 against carrier substrate 40 tomaintain the electrical connection between bond pads 12 and theirrespective terminals 41.

[0041] Preferably, alignment device 42 is manufactured from a materialwith good thermal conductivity, including, without limitation, copper,aluminum, other metals, metal alloys, and ceramics.

[0042]FIG. 5 illustrates a computer 50 including a carrier substrate 52.Alignment device 42 is attached to carrier substrate 52. One or moresemiconductor devices 10 are inserted into alignment device 42 andbiased against electrically conductive material 46 in order to establishan electrical connection between the devices and the carrier substrate.Thus, with the attachment of a semiconductor device 10 to carriersubstrate 52, the semiconductor device is operatively incorporated intocomputer 50.

[0043] The vertically mountable, edge-bumped semiconductor device of thepresent invention includes several advantageous features. The placementof bond pads on a single edge of the semiconductor device eliminates theneed for leads between the bond pads and their respective terminals on acarrier substrate. Thus, the semiconductor device has reduced impedancerelative to many devices in the prior art. The vertical orientation ofthe semiconductor device relative to a substrate imparts thesemiconductor device with good thermal transferability and consumesrelatively little area or “real estate” on the carrier substrate. Theprotective overcoat supports the semiconductor device and strengthens itas it is biased against a carrier substrate to establish an electricalcontact between the semiconductor device and the carrier substrate. Thefabrication method facilitates selection of the bond pad sites on asemiconductor device and may be performed in relatively few steps.

[0044] Although the foregoing description contains many specificities,these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the presentinvention, but merely as providing illustrations of selected presentlypreferred embodiments. Similarly, other embodiments of the invention maybe devised which do not depart from the spirit or scope of the presentinvention. The scope of this invention is, therefore, indicated andlimited only by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, ratherthan by the foregoing description. All additions, deletions andmodifications to the invention as disclosed herein which fall within themeaning and scope of the claims are embraced within their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for establishing an electricalconnection between a semiconductor device and a carrier substrate,comprising: orienting the semiconductor device over the carriersubstrate in nonparallel relation thereto, at least one contact pad onan edge of the semiconductor device being aligned with a correspondingterminal of the carrier substrate; and biasing at least one of thesemiconductor device and the carrier substrate toward the other of thesemiconductor device and the carrier substrate.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising positioning electrically conductive materialbetween the at least one contact pad and the terminal.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein said positioning comprises positioning a Z-axisconductive elastomer.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said biasingestablishes an interference contact between the at least one contact padand the terminal.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingassembling an alignment device with the carrier substrate, the alignmentdevice configured to receive the semiconductor device and establishcommunication between the semiconductor device and the carriersubstrate.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising at leastpartially covering a receptacle of the alignment device after saidorienting.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein said assembling comprisesproviding the alignment device including at least one receptacle havinga width about 10 mils to about 40 mils larger than the width of thesemiconductor device.
 8. The method of claim 5, wherein said assemblingcomprises providing the alignment device having a plurality ofreceptacles, each receptacle of the plurality of receptacles configuredto receive the semiconductor device and establish communication betweenthe semiconductor device and the carrier substrate.
 9. The method ofclaim 5, wherein said assembling comprises providing the alignmentdevice with a portion of the receptacle which is located remotely fromthe carrier substrate tapering outwardly.
 10. A method for establishingan electrical connection between at least one semiconductor device and acarrier substrate, comprising: providing at least one semiconductordevice having at least one contact pad on an edge thereof; aligning theat least one contact pad of a first semiconductor device of the at leastone semiconductor device and a corresponding terminal of the carriersubstrate such that the at least one semiconductor device and thecarrier substrate are oriented nonparallel relative to one another; andpositioning at least one of the at least one semiconductor device andthe carrier substrate against the other of the at least onesemiconductor device and the carrier substrate.
 11. The method of claim10, further comprising: aligning the at least one contact pad of atleast another semiconductor device and a corresponding terminal of thecarrier substrate such that the at least another semiconductor deviceand the carrier substrate are oriented nonparallel relative to oneanother; and positioning at least one of the at least anothersemiconductor device and the carrier substrate against the other of theat least another semiconductor device and the carrier substrate.
 12. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising positioning electricallyconductive material between the at least one contact pad and theterminal.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein said positioning comprisespositioning a Z-axis conductive elastomer.
 14. The method of claim 10,wherein said drawing establishes an interference contact between the atleast one contact pad and the terminal.
 15. The method of claim 10,further comprising associating an alignment device with the carriersubstrate, the alignment device configured to support at least onesemiconductor device and to establish communication between the at leastone semiconductor device and the carrier substrate.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein said aligning comprises inserting the at least onesemiconductor device at least partially into a receptacle of thealignment device.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising atleast partially covering the receptacle of the alignment device aftersaid inserting.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein said associatingcomprises providing the alignment device including at least one slothaving a width about 10 mils to about 40 mils larger than the width ofthe at least one semiconductor device.
 19. The method of claim 15,wherein said associating comprises providing the alignment device havinga plurality of slots, each slot of the plurality of slots configured toreceive at least one semiconductor device and establish communicationbetween the at least one semiconductor device and the carrier substrate.20. The method of claim 16, wherein said associating comprises providingthe alignment device with a portion of the receptacle which is locatedremotely from the carrier substrate tapering outwardly.
 21. A method ofconserving space on an active surface of a carrier substrate, saidmethod comprising: associating an alignment device proximate at leastone terminal on the carrier substrate, the alignment device including abody with at least one receptacle therein; inserting a semiconductordevice in the at least one receptacle of the alignment device, thesemiconductor device including at least one contact pad on an edgethereof; and advancing at least one of the semiconductor device and thecarrier substrate toward the other until the at least one contact pad ofthe semiconductor device is in communication with a correspondingterminal of the carrier substrate.
 22. The method of claim 21, furthercomprising: inserting a second semiconductor device in a secondreceptacle of the alignment device, the second semiconductor deviceincluding at least one contact pad on an edge thereof; and advancing atleast one of the second semiconductor device and the carrier substratetoward the other until the at least one contact pad of the secondsemiconductor device is in communication with the at least one terminalof the carrier substrate.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprisingpositioning electrically conductive material between the at least onecontact pad and the terminal.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein saidpositioning comprises positioning a Z-axis conductive elastomer.
 25. Themethod of claim 21, wherein said advancing establishes an interferencecontact between the at least one contact pad and the terminal.
 26. Themethod of claim 21, further comprising at least partially covering areceptacle through the alignment device after said inserting.
 27. Themethod of claim 21, wherein said associating comprises providing thealignment device including at least one receptacle having a width about10 mils to about 40 mils larger than the width of the semiconductordevice.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein said associating comprisesproviding the alignment device having a plurality of receptacles, eachreceptacle of the plurality of receptacles being configured to receiveat least one semiconductor device and to establish communication betweena bond pad of the at least one semiconductor device and a correspondingterminal of the carrier substrate.
 29. The method of claim 21, whereinsaid associating comprises providing the alignment device with a portionof the at least one receptacle which is located remotely from thecarrier substrate tapering outwardly.